IEBC commissioner nominee Mukhwana dismisses fears over lawyers causing divisions in electoral body

IEBC Commissioner nominee Moses Mukhwana has dismissed concerns that having many lawyers in the electoral commission could lead to divisions like those witnessed in 2022.

While appearing before the National Assembly's Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, Mukhwana said what matters is mutual respect among commissioners, not their professional background.

“Look, it is important to have a position in life, but it is important to appreciate the positions of others; if you do that, there can be no issue of overload,” he said.

The nominee was responding to West Mugirango MP Stephene Mogaka, who asked whether having a lot of lawyers at IEBC causes discord.

Mukhwana further argued that having many lawyers in a team should not be a problem if members understand their roles.

“I was just looking at some of your (MPs) introductions and noticed there are almost five lawyers in this committee, and I wonder whether there has been an overload here compared to your numbers, he said.

Responding to Mukhwana, MP Mogaka noted that while discord was witnessed in IEBC, the same has not been seen in JLAC despite having several legal minds

“So basically, we have not had discordance from JLAC, but we have heard it from IEBC before, and that is why I’m asking, and it is a very serious issue to Kenyans, because in the absence of agreement on what result from IEBC is, where do we leave this country?” he posed.

The nominee responded by saying legal expertise is useful in the commission’s work.

“It is safe to have counsels around, after all, IEBC many times is on a legal trip,” he added.

Other Topics To Read

• National
• IEBC Commissioners
• IEBC interviews
• IEBC nominees
• IEBC nominees vetting
• Moses Mukhwana
• IEBC commissioner nominee Mukhwana dismisses fears over lawyers causing divisions in electoral body
• Headlines